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Chinese Noodles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiaozi Noodles in China are very complicated. Noodle shops that serve nothing but noodle soups and dry noodles are everywhere in the Chinese-speaking world. There are also dumpling shops that serve nothing but several flavors of boiled, steamed, and fried dumplings. Noodle shops are as ubiquitous as sandwich shops in the West, although sandwich delis are also increasingly common in China. Categories of Chinese Noodles Chinese noodles are classified using two factors: what the noodles are made of, and how the noodles are made. "Mian" (traditional: 湯麵; simplified: 湯面; pinyin: tāngmiàn; Cantonese: mein) are noodles made from wheat flour. "Fen" (traditional/simplified: 粉; pinyin: fěn; Cantonese: Fun) are noodles made from rice starch, mung bean starch, potato starch, or some other plant starch. The following is an overview of terms commonly seen on Chinese-language menus. *Tang mian "noodle soup" (traditional: 湯麵; simplified: 湯面; pinyin: tāngmiàn). *Gan mian “dry noodles” (traditional: 乾麵; simplified: 干面; pinyin: gānmiàn). *La mian "pulled-noodles" (traditional: 拉麵; simplified 拉面; pinyin: lāmiàn; Cantonese: lai mein). La Mian are often served in a noodle soup. *Chao mian “stir-fried noodles” (traditional: 炒麵; simplified: 炒面; pinyin: chǎomiàn; Cantonese: chow mein). Dry wheat noodles stir-friend using the same technique used with fried frice; Chow mein can also refer to Hong Kong style “crispy noodles” (traditional: 脆麵; simplified: 脆面; pinyin: cuìmiàn). *Lao mian "“stirred noodles” (traditional: 撈麵; simplified: 撈面; pinyin: lāomiàn; Cantonese: lo mein). Commonly refers to thick or flat wheat noodles, which have been boiled rather than fried. *Mian xian "string noodles" (traditional: 麵線; simplified: 面线; pinyin: miànxiàn; Minnan: misoa). Thin wheat noodes, appears similar to rice noodles, always boiled in a noodle soup, Fujianese in origin. *Dong fen "winter noodles" (traditional/simplified: 冬粉; pinyin: dōngfěn), also Fan Si in Cantonese (traditional: 粉絲; simplified: 粉丝; pinyin: fěnsī). One form of "transparent" Chinese noodles. *Mi fen “rice noodles" (traditional/simplified: 米粉; pinyin: mífěn; Cantonese: mi fun). Another form of "transparent" Chinese noodles. *Chao fen "stir-fried rice noodles" (traditional/simplified: 炒粉; pinyin: chǎofěn; Cantonese: chow fun). Dry noodles, similar to chao mian, but with rice noodles. *He fen "stir-fried flat rice noodles" (traditional/simplified: 河粉; pinyin: héfěn; Cantonese: ho fun). Wide and flat rice noodles, another type of dry noodles similar to chao fen, Cantonese in origin. In many Chinese noodle shops, the same dish can be prepared as either a soup or dried noodles. Also the type of noodle can be selected, especially between thin and thick noodles (traditional: 細; simplified: 细; pinyin: xì) (traditional/simplified: 密; pinyin: mì). Customers are given a menus with several columns next to each dish, similar to dim sum menus or a-la-carte sushi menus in the West, where the customer can select what type of noodles they want, and how many servings. And then, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of variations of noodles within these general noodle categories, including famous noodle recipies associated with specific regions of China: *In northern China, it's Zha Jiang Mian "noodles with fried sauce" (traditional: 醡醬麵; simplified: 炸酱面; pinyin: zhájiàngmiàn). *Hubei province is famous for its Re Gan Mian "hot and dry noodles" (traditional: 熱乾麵; simplified: 热干面; pinyin: règānmiàn). *Sichuan province has "dan dan noodles" (traditional: 擔擔麵; simplified: 担担面; pinyin: dàndànmiàn). *And in Southern Fujian province and Taiwan, it's o-a mi-soa "oyster noodles" (traditional: 蚵仔麵線; simplified: 蚵仔面线; pinyin: kèzái miànxiàn; Minnan: ô-á mī-sòaⁿ). And most of these noodles have equivalents and variations in other East Asian and South Asian cultures. As for Chinese American cuisine, Chow Mein (friend noodles), Mi Fun (rice noodles), Lo Mein (flat noodles), and Ho Fun (flat rice noodles) have been on menus in North America since the start of the Twentieth century. Interestingly, noodles in Chinese American cuisine are typically served as dry noodles, while noodle soups are much less common, even though noodle soups are ubiquitous in China itself. Assuming Yatka Mein is somehow derived from Chinese cuisine, it is likely derived from some sort of noodle soup.